Amanda McDonald will remain chairman of the East Kilbride Pirates after the she was re-elected for another two-year term at the club annual general meeting earlier this month.

The American football club held their AGM on Sunday, January 12 and elected the committee they hope will lead them to a BritBowl Premier Championship in 2014.

The event was well attended by players, coaches, staff and supporters and saw McDonald remain in her post.

And after her re-election she told the News: “I’m delighted and honoured to have the support of the club for a further term as chairman.

“We had a lot of good work in 2013 to celebrate and I know going forward we will continue to push the club as far forward as we can.

“We also reported the best financial year in the club’s history – as we continue to make the team more sustainable and self-supporting.”

During the elections, the Pirates welcomed a few new faces to the committee as ordinary members, in the form of current player Alastair Adamson and former player Kudzi Chidziva.

Michael Smith, John Patterson, Iain Dick and Stuart Gallacher were also re-elected as ordinary members and vice chairman Jamie McLaughlin and treasurer Matthew Davies will also be continuing in their roles, as they were elected on two-year terms in 2013.

Also making a return for 2014 is former head coach Andrew Mackintosh who left the club in 2012 to spend some time with NCAA Division One football team Murray State Racers in Tennessee.

Amanda added: “This gives us a really strong committee in place for the season ahead, with lots of different skills.

“We’re very pleased to welcome Andy back to the coaching staff of our adult team as our offensive co-ordinator, allowing head coach Ross Templeton to spend more time developing and coordinating the team as a whole.

“Andy brings a wealth of experience and insight to the role, which will hopefully help give us an additional edge this season.”

Earlier in the day, Scotland’s top team held their first open try-out session for the 2014 adult team on the 3G indoor pitch at Hamilton Palace Sports grounds, where they will be training throughout the winter and into the spring.

St leonards-based defensive back, Dougie Meechan, was on hand to help the 45 newcomers who got involved and they will now be put through their paces over the course of the pre-season. The Pirates will then make the cut for their 2014 roster at the club’s pre-season training camp in April ahead of the big kick-off in May.

Amanda said: “There was some great talent on show, so we’re really looking forward to working with our new players over the next month or two to see who’d like to be part of the team and develop them into players for the 2014 season.”

Meanwhile, the club have recently announced they will be returning to Hamilton Rugby Club for their home games in the 2014 season.

Last year, the Pirates won five of their six matches played at the Laigh Bent venue. They lost out 16-12 to London Blitz in the BritBowl semi-finals.